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Thompson said the level of support and enthusiasm from people across this country is 'inspiring.'
AP Photo

Fred Thompson leaned heavily on his home state of Tennessee in rounding up seed money to launch an all but certain campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

According to a report that his testing-the-waters committee filed with the Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday, Thompson raised more than a third of his total June haul -- $1.3 million of $3.4 million -- from the Volunteer State, which he represented for eight years in the Senate.

The next biggest source of cash for his would-be campaign was Texas, which yielded less than $340,000 in contributions.

Thompson's total haul last month indicates an ability to mount a first-tier-caliber operation, but it also suggests he will not be able to quickly launch a national campaign that will dominate the field, as some Republicans had hoped.

Raised: $3.4 million

Spent: $626,000

Staff salaries: $69,000

Consultants: $97,000

Web hardware: $66,750

Travel: $55,000

Media: $21,000

Catering: $15,000

It's common for presidential candidates to solicit money from their bases -- both geographic and ideological -- when launching a campaign.

Still, the limited geographic scope of Thompson's cash highlights the difficulty he would face in expanding his fundraising operations more than six months after competitors began assembling massive campaign infrastructures, including political and fundraising operations across the country.

Tuesday's IRS report shows Thompson spent a total of $626,000 to assemble the barest skeleton of a campaign operation. The committee cut checks for $35,000 for fundraising consulting and $83,000 for other types of consulting. It paid 10 staffers more than $69,000, not including taxes.

Sources have told The Politico that Thompson's organization has since added staff in his McLean, Va., and Nashville, Tenn., offices, and the report does not list employees or consultants who might have been working without pay in June, such as spokesman Mark Corallo.

Still, leading candidates on both sides have raised and spent tallies that dwarf Thompson's.

The leading Democratic candidates, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, spent more than $6.6 million on salaries, yet finished June with $45 million and $36 million in the bank, respectively.

On the other hand, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the Republican candidate who spent the most on payroll ($3.6 million through the first half of the year), has had to slash jobs as his fundraising lagged along with his poll numbers.

And Thompson's committee is trumpeting its low overhead, or burn rate, as a sign of its efficiency.

Though some Republicans hoped Thompson would raise more than $5 million, the committee touts its haul as impressive, given the short time frame it covers. It notes the committee received contributions from more than 9,000 people from all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., while hosting only two fundraisers.

The committee will have held 10 fundraisers in July, including one that drew an estimated 350 people Monday night to a downtown Washington hotel and one set for Tuesday evening in Newport Coast, Calif.

Kirby Wilbur of Seattle, a conservative radio talk show host who is in D.C. for a conference and attended Monday's fundraiser, said Thompson may need to officially enter the race to bolster his fundraising.

"I think there's fear among a lot of people that he might have lost his momentum," said Wilbur, who gave Thompson $2,300, according to the report. "I don't think he's lost it yet. But had he formally announced, there might be a little bit more money there. Some people say, 'Why should I send him money if he's not going to run?'"

In a statement, Thompson, who is perhaps best known for his role as Manhattan District Attorney Arthur Branch in NBC's hit crime drama "Law & Order," said, "The level of support and enthusiasm from people across this country is inspiring.

"It tells me that people are ready for a leader who will change the national attitude from political bickering to a shared vision for our future."

Thompson's committee, Friends of Fred Thompson, likely won't be required to disclose its finances again until Oct. 15, provided Thompson officially declares his candidacy before the end of September. Once he declares his candidacy, he'll come under the Federal Election Commission reporting regulations.

In the unlikely event he doesn't enter the race, his only reporting obligation will be to the IRS and his next reporting deadline would fall at the end of January 2008.

Readers' Comments (37)

I really like Fred's opinion in the National Review Online recently on gun control. NOT - It reads :

......The horrible massacre at Verginal Tech (32 killed) proved not that the shooter should have been in some sort of tightly controlled mental health program or that it was too easy in VA for a nut to purchase semi-automic weapons but - "that there were too few guns on campus".....If the Univeristy had not had a policy prohipiting guns, students would have been able to "protect themselves".

The great Republic hope strikes again....Ya gotta put him up as the candidate of Neo-Con choice.

WOW!!! He is only 10 million behind Romney for Q2 and only 8 million behind Rudy for Q2 and Even McCain's deflating campaign took in more! I still don't understand why people are so excited about Thompson. He is uncharismatic, lazy, lobbyist for abortion rights, and looks like an old man( older than he is).

Fred Thompson raised $3.4 million in June for his all-but-certain campaign for the Republican presidential nomination – a tally that shows he could mount a first-tier-caliber operation but will not dominate the field, as some Republicans had hoped.

The Texas Republican Ron Paul raised nearly $2.4 million in the second quarter, and, after all expenses, has a total amount of $2.4 million cash-on-hand, campaign spokesman Kent Snyder tells CNN. Paul raised $640,000 in the first quarter of 2007.

Snyder added that nearly all of Paul’s warchest was raised through the Internet.

His so-called testing-the-waters committee spent $626,000 last month, according to data it released to the media Tuesday afternoon and will file with the Internal Revenue Service.

Paul, with only 11 staffers on his campaign, runs a frugal campaign. The Texas Republican rarely travels to key campaign states. Snyder said the campaign is expecting to expand into additional states in the near future.

Why is Politico pushing Fred Thompson so hard. Not a day goes by there is not a new Fred Thompson story, and he he is not even in the race yet . why are they not giving the same covreage to Gores 2008 run he is not in the race either.

Greg, I agree with you. Can you believe it? Every day they float the same old story about Fred. My guess is they usually garner a large number of comments, which parlay into advertising revenues for politico. That is until the advertisers realize that you, me and the other four people that comment on Fred or Hillary stories will never buy the crap they are selling. This is sick I have actually agreed with three liberals today, make that four. I think someone put something in my coffee.

For one thing, Ron Paul sure isn't a liberal. Second, it looks like Fred is just another old white Republican in a suit. He's no GOP messiah as some seem to have hoped, and while he may not be a total bust, since he hasn't done much to stand out in terms of policy or money raised, he's just another one in the pack.

I bet Fred wishes he didn't raise much money, since now he has too much to just drop out, and too little to make a statement. Now he has to fight as much as all the other candidates, and he doesn't seem to be aggressive enough to last the long haul.

"None of the above" is polling higher than any current Republican running. The Republicans are toast thanks to George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Alberto Gonzales, Senator "Macaca", Tom Delay, Randy "Duke" Cunningham, Jack Abramoff, and last but not lease... IRAQ. I don't see the Republicans winning another major election for years to come.

Not impressive. This guy is boring. I knew he wouldn't live up to the hype. he spends more time trying to avoid doing anything. guliani and romney are way more appealing and have already proved effective campaigners. Thompson's lack of progress given the enormous amount of free media exposure and 'buzz' is not very stellar. if he worked half as hard as romney, he would have doubled that figure. romney does like five 'ask mitt anything' each day. thompson does a podcast from his home here or there.

Fred supporters keep saying liberals should be scared of Fred, but scared of what exactly? Scared of someone who, after a bunch of hype by themselves and the media has only raised a mediocre amount of money? Scared of someone who gets beaten by 'none of the above?' Scared of someone who has repeatedly been called 'lazy?' Scared of someone whos only qualifications for being president are looking and sounding like a president would in a lame action movie?

Yeah, I'm real scared. (Not that I'm a liberal or anything. I'm probably as delusional as you by supporting Ron Paul, but at least he's an interesting guy.)

The GOP already has two candidates who poll strongly against HIllary, and very strongly with Independents (who will probably decide the election next year), and those are John McCain and Rudy Giuliani. Sure, they're not perfect (what candidate is?); but, for the most part, they are strong conservatives on most issues, the big issues... especially when compared to Hillary.

The Repubs need to decide (and soon) whether they'd rather have an imperfect conservative, like Rudy or McCain... or a perfect liberal, like Hillary. It's really that simple.

agreed, Fred is a hack..the media has been shoving him down our throats for quiet a while now, he has a ton of exposure., he constantly gets noted as winning the polls(name recognition)..and he still managed to only raise 3.4 million? Just goes to show you, that the man is a hack, and all of the hype he gets is from people who won't even go and vote in the primaries, let alone donate money to his campaign.

Now I know you fredheads(sidebar: what moron came up with such a stupid name for his supporters?), will come in here and tell me that "Oh people aren't donating to his campaign becasue they don't know if he'll run"...what a pile of bulshit. He's been running the campaign from day 1, everyone knows he'll run, and people who support him donate him money. There is a link for donations on his site...so its not like you have to seek out a way to donate to him.

Conclusion: Freddy isn't living up to the hype of being the saviour of the GOP, and when you sit down and look up the guys record you realize he is just another copy of Bush. Which is why the bush family and cheney family endorse and help him with running the campaign

Why is Politico pushing Fred Thompson so hard. Not a day goes by there is not a new Fred Thompson story, and he he is not even in the race yet . why are they not giving the same covreage to Gores 2008 run he is not in the race either.

Why is the Democrat Misinformation Media Machine pushing Mayor Bloomberg so hard. Not a day goes by there is not a new Bloomberg story, and he he is not even in the race yet . (Gee, think "Shrill" Hill is worried about him?)

How many stories does it take to drag this out? Ok, Fred 'only' raised 3.4 mil in June. What about all those stories where the media portrayed Fred Thompson as the "second coming"? I think it's the media which is "disappointed". I predict, again, that once the field is firmed up, total contributions to the Republican candidate will break previous records. The media still does not contemplate the power of the anti-Clinton mood to motivate. If that Republican is Fred he'll break the record. If it's Rudy, he'll do likewise. If it's Paul Ron, we're all living in a fantasy where nothing is real.

what makes you think Clinton will be the one gettin the nomination? Yes she is a front runner for demos right, but only because of name recognition...thats all it is this early in the game, plenty of time for her to lose her steam and for people to get bored with her

Its kinda like Giulliani...yes he is the current GOP front runner, but he doesn't stand for anything that the GOP stands. He wants to take away guns, allow abortion, etc...so once people brush away his 9/11 persona, he'll tumble in the polls

I keep across comments from crackpot Ron Paul supporters here and elsewhere. The man is unelectable. Repeat this three times and click your heels. He's a right-wing crank who looks like one, and I speak as a conservative sympathetic with many of his views. Please, put your time and money to better use. It doesn't have to be Thompson, who looks too old and compromised. But someone.